This was originally a Heller kit, now under the Maquette
label. The one I built was marketed by the Russian "Ogoniuk" or
something similar, with the most awful box art I have ever seen. The kit isn't
much better than the box art, which is funny because it was supposed to be an
AMS-avoiding project. I thought that because it's my first ship I wouldn't know
enough about ships to overdo it...Ooops! It also represents my return to
modeling after a 20 year hiatus. The funnels are styrene tubing and turned. The
amidships searchlight and the aft boat platform are scratch-built from sheet
styrene. All masts (except the lower foremast), spars, gaff, flagstaffs and
torpedo net booms were turned from brass rod to obtain a satisfying taper.
Upperworks platforms, searchlights and small guns are all scratch-built. The
ventilator mouths from the kit were modified and grafted to styrene rod. I have
no clear photos of the anchors Potemkin carried but the featureless blobs of the
kit were replaced with a scratch-built Admiralty pattern one. Gun port doors
were opened, backings made inside hull and scratch-built guns installed. The
doors are sheet styrene.

The lifeboats were simply filled in with Milliput to depict
canvas covers over battens. Steam launches and torpedo boats were massively
modified from kit parts. Davits are brass with stainless steel wire or modified
photo-etch (accommodation ladders). Tom's and Gold Medal Models photo-etch were
used, and modified for various small details. Flags are Dunagan decals over
aluminum foil. Rigging and wireless antenna are Dai Riki monofilament.
Painting is with Tamiya acrylics and Future, flattened with varying amounts of
Tamiya Flat Base. Decking is painted using Rusty White's technique, ie. 3 shades
masked and misted. Bow and stern decals were hand painted. I kept the weathering
light, as the ship was fresh from refit at the time of the mutiny, and
photographs support this. Funnel colors appear to have been white or off white
on detailed unretouched photos of the period. The model won Best of Show awards
at the local Upper Peninsula Scale Modelers and the R.I. Bong Midway
competitions in 2006. Many thanks to Vladimir Yakubov, Jim Baumann and Darius
Przezdziecki for their generosity with references and encouragement.